26 Feb 2016

After a 1-0 victory over Augsburg, Liverpool are through to the next round of the Europa League, but according to ex-Reds Phil Babb and Stephen Warnock, Augsburg suffered a travesty of justice at the hands of the referee, who (IMO) awarded one of the most dubious penalty kicks in recent memory.

"Definitely not a penalty. If that went against me, I’d be devastated. He [Dominik Kohr] tried to jump for the ball, and clashed with his own team-mate. There’s no way he can move his hand out the way. Bad decision".

Babb added:

"It was such a harsh decision. He [the Referee] didn’t assess the situation properly, and just gave the penalty".

During the match thread, I described the decision as a 'joke penalty', and I maintain that view. Kohr didn't deliberately handle the ball, and as Warnock states, there's no way he could've moved his hand out of the way.

As usual, though, the prevailing view of the fanbase appears to be: 'Well, it was a dodgy penalty, but who cares - Liverpool won the game!'.

I despise this point of view. For me, football isn't just about winning, it's about winning fairly, and victory achieved game as a result of a poor refereeing decisions is a travesty, and should not be celebrated.

Additionally, this mindset is hypocritical. The same fans gleefully accepting the decision would be spitting blood if Liverpool went out of the competition in the same way. You know it's true!

What goes around comes around, though, and before the end of the season, Liverpool will probably suffer as a result of a similarly misguided refereeing decision. When that happens, I doubt the fanbase will be so magnanimous.

On a separate note: three clean sheets in a row is a great achievement, and perfect defensive preparation going into Sunday's League Cup final. One more clean sheet, the Liverpool's trophy cabinet will probably be one cup heavier.